Headteachers Letter – 28th January 2022
Dear Parents and carers,
It is hard to believe that we are almost through to the end of January and thank you to the entire school community for making what can be a difficult month such a positive and rewarding experience at Wollaston School.
World Holocaust Memorial Day
We are proud to be a school which remembers the atrocities of the Holocaust in order that we never forget the suffering of humanity in acts of genocide. We can then ensure that we build a world in which love and respect triumph and always take a stand against discrimination, prejudice and intolerance.
As many parents will know, we have traditionally held an annual tour of remembrance to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and although this has not been possible for the past two years, due to Covid restrictions, our remembrance remains equally important. Mr Hopkins led our memorial assemblies this week, to students in all year groups and I know this had a profound impact on our students as they listened and learnt about why the memorial day is so important. For parents who are interested in learning more, there are a number of materials on the website HERE
Vaccination Programme
Thanks to Miss Fitzhugh for facilitating a successful Coronvirus and Flu vaccination day on Thursday for all students with parental consent to have the relevant inoculations. As ever our students were impeccably organised and behaved and the day ran very smoothly.
There are additional opportunities to have vaccines for both Covid-19 and Flu, and full details can be found using the links below;
Thank you to all members of the school community and the NHS for supporting this programme with such success and consideration, whilst respecting that there are a range of views on this subject.
Positive Behaviours
Good behaviour and discipline are essential to the provision of an excellent education and I am pleased to say that we are seeing exemplary behaviour as the norm throughout every year group. Positive behaviour points issued outnumber the negative by a ratio of 94% to 6%, which has been steadily increasing throughout the year. We have always been proud of our students and their conduct, but I do want to publicly recognise the further improvements and the effort, application, respect and high standards of behaviour of the students at Wollaston School.
Of course this does not happen by accident, and I would also like to thank parents, carers and our staff for encouraging and supporting excellent behaviour as the everyday standard at Wollaston School. We know that the last two years have been challenging, but I am proud to say that our students have emerged from the restrictions with redoubled effort, a determination to make the most of their learning in the full range of curriculum areas and an appreciation that success and happiness comes when we respect ourselves, our education, our school and every member of the entire school community.
School Uniform
Thank you to parents for your continued support with ensuring that students arrive at school in correct uniform and with the equipment needed for the day ahead.
A reminder that our full uniform guide can be found HERE– and there are examples and pictures regarding what is and is not acceptable uniform, which we hope will be useful in informing purchasing decisions. Heads of Year are also happy to advise and to help with any issues regarding school uniform. A reminder of contact details can be found below.
Mr Atherton – Head of Year 7 – AthertonA@wollaston-school.net
Mr Logan – Head of Year 8 – LoganJ@wollaston-school.net
Mr Jackson – Head of Year 9 – JacksonM@wollaston-school.net
Mr Rees – Head of Year 10 – ReesM@wollaston-school.net
Mrs Elmes – Head of Year 11 – ElmesM@wollaston-school.net
Boccia Tournament
Wollaston school hosted the Wellingborough and East Northants Boccia Festival during this week. Boccia is an inclusive sports that is also a Paralympic event. The local secondary schools festival was in the morning, with Wollaston School fielding two teams. Razvan, Jacob and Will represented Year 7 and Hannah, Ben, Oliver and Henry competing for Year 8. One team came 2nd and the other team came 3rd. They will now progress to the country championships. The Boccia tournaments were excellently run by Mr Ed Reeves and Wollaston school’s year 9 sports leaders, with all games being umpired by the sports leaders.
Our sports leaders then ran a primary tournament for 8 local primary schools in the afternoon. There were teams from Bozeat, Irchester, Cogenhoe, Our Ladys, Mears Ashby, and Wollaston Primary. The leaders had trained afterschool to umpire the boccia games and led the event with great expertise. Ed Reeves from Northamptonshire Sport commented “ .. the main element that made the day work so well, were the fantastic leaders from Wollaston School, who worked very hard and were a credit to the school and thanks to Mr Roberts for his time supporting and training them.”
Congratulations to all involved and we look forward to news from the county championships!
2021 Year 11 Awards and Certificate Evening
We look forward to welcoming back our class of 2021 Year 11 to present their GCSE certificates and the annual awards for exceptional achievements, efforts and community contributions. This will take place on Monday and students and parents have already booked tickets for the event. If you are a parent of a student in last year’s Year 11 and have any questions, in advance of Monday, please contact Mrs Walker WalkerA@wollaston-school.net We look forward to the evening next week, and of course I will provide details of the award winners in next weeks letter.
Have a wonderful weekend, and as always, please do not hesitate to get in touch of there is any aspect of our work which you would like to discuss.
Mr James Birkett
Headteacher